[Exclusive] Interview with Jay Park: Thoughts about Australia, Looking to the Future, and More

Hi Soompiers,

Here’s our latest exclusive interview with Jay Park! As you may know, he’s coming to Australia for the first time ever this September, and in preparation for the event, he talked to Soompi about his upcoming concerts in Melbourne and Sydney, the introduction of Jay Park TV, and what item of clothing he would never, ever wear. Check out the audio interview here and also read on to learn more about his upcoming concerts!

Q. Are there any particular things you want to do or try when you visit Australia for your concert?

A. You know, I want to try everything. I want to experience the food, the culture, the people, the weather… whatever it is that Australia has.

Q. You’re going to be performing your first live show in Australia. How did that come about?

A. Basically, the promoters over in Australia, they hit me up and asked me if I wanted to do the show, and… I’ve never been to Australia before, so of course I said yes. The schedule worked out and everything worked out, so it’s gonna happen in September.

Q. How are you preparing for your tour in Australia?

A. Well, I wouldn’t really necessarily call it a tour; it’s like, two shows and two different cities. Basically, I have a concert coming up in Seoul on August 18th, so that’s taking a lot out of my time. So after that, then I’ll start to focus on the show in Australia and what I’m going to do there, and how I’ll make it special.

Q. We just watched the first episode of Jay Park TV, and found it really interesting and funny. Because it’s so random, can you tell us what the concept is? Can we expect more episodes in the future?

A. What Jay Park TV is, it’s just a bunch of random moments from a bunch of different days. We plan to put out at least two episodes a month, so there will definitely be more to come.

Q. You’ve begun composing for several K-Pop artists. What’s your songwriting process like and do you already have the artist in mind when you do it?

A. My songwriting process is like… when I’m in the studio… I was in the studio the other day with Cha Cha — Chase Malone from AOM — and we were just putting out melodies, in the booth, styling melodies, whatever came to mind. Or sometimes I would just sit with my laptop by myself and just think of lyrics and melodies together. And no, I don’t have anyone in mind when I write a song because I don’t write a song for other people if they don’t ask first. They have to ask first, and then I will write a song specifically for them.

Q. You do a great job promoting your dance crew, AOM. How often are you able to get together and practice? Do they join you during concerts?

A. They’ve joined me, for like, since 2010. They’ve been joining me on concerts, shows. They recently came out for a big battle called R16. I get to see them maybe two, three times a year, which is great since before I wasn’t able to see them before. I get to see them a lot more than I used to.

Q. Is there any song that you’ve written or performed that has stuck you as particularly personal? In particular, any from “New Breed”?

A. Basically, for me… I write most of my songs, like, every song is personal and particular to me. It’s just the whole album, because I produced the album myself. It’s a very… “New Breed” is me; it represents me because I’m the one who made the album.

Q. Many songwriters like to write based on a certain character, but you write from experience. How has this helped to inspire and craft your music?

A. I mean, yeah, there’s things that I’ve experienced; there’s things that I’ve took off, that I’ve been influenced from, maybe books, other songs, or movies, or whatever. But just the whole album is particular to me because I am the one who made it; it’s a very special album.

Q. We heard that you recently attended the 2NE1 concert with your crew. What did you think of their performance? Did it inspire you in any way?

A. Oh yeah, you know, their performance was crazy, the production on it was crazy. The girls did a wonderful job and it did inspire me. I have a concert coming up myself on August 18th, so it inspired me to work hard on my concert too.

Q. Do you think that there’s a difference to how people first perceive you and how you really are?

A. Well, I don’t know… a lot of people look at me in different ways, some people think I’m really serious, some people think I’m like, this Dennis the Menace type character, that I’m always fooling around and that I’m never serious. Some people think that I’m cocky; some people think that I’m humble… it all depends of what you’ve seen of me and how you think of me. Everyone has his own opinion. But for me, you know, I like to be confident… but I don’t like to be cocky. I like to stay humble, because… you have to stay humble in order to keep grounded, to live a real life. I don’t want to get caught up in my own world.

Q. Do you mind people thinking of you as a role model?

A. I mean, I would like them to only think of the good things as a role model because, you know, I’m not perfect, you know; I swear, I cuss, I drink… I’m not a perfect person. But I am good to my family, I’m good to my friends, I’m good to my fans. I try to keep good manners. And just stuff like that. Maybe they could look more towards that than the other stuff.

Q. What’s the weirdest gift you ever received from a fan?

A. I don’t know, man, I received a lot of stuff, every country that I go to… someone gave me, like, a rubber ass… I don’t know, just weird stuff. Like, underwear, and meat, like slabs of meat in a cooler… just a bunch of stuff.

Q. Would you ever open up a restaurant like your fellow celebrities have done, and if so, what kind?

A. I don’t know… definitely I would like to get into business, just so I could set up some of my family or friends. Maybe like a taco truck. I love Mexican food.

Q. Do you have any surprising songs or artists in your MP3 collection?

A. I don’t think so… everything in my MP3 player… oh, maybe! I bought Justin Bieber’s album the other day when I was in Malaysia.

Q. We know your tastes run more to rap and R&B, but are there any K-Pop songs you’ve been listening to lately?

A. I like 2NE1 and BIGBANG’s music. I like Tiger JK’s music, I like Tasha’s music, Dynamic Duo, Dok2, The Quiett… it’s all just, it’s mostly rap, hip-hop, and R&B.

Q. You’ve been known for your fashion sense. Is there an item of clothing or an accessory you would never wear?

A. I would never wear a thong.

Q. Have you been following the Olympics?

A. I have not been following the Olympics because I’ve been pretty busy. I’ve been traveling, I’ve been doing shows, and I’ve been getting ready for my second album that’s coming out next year. I’ve been getting ready for my concert and then I have all these shows to do, so I’m jam-packed with stuff to do.

Q. If you could change anything about your past, would you change anything?

A. I don’t think so, you know, because even the mistakes, even everything bad that happened, I wouldn’t change because then I wouldn’t be the person that I am today. The past is the past. I just want to focus on the future, and getting better, not making the same mistakes and just becoming a better person, a better artist. Just a better everything.

Thanks Jay!

Here’s the vital information you need to know about the concerts in Australia! Make sure you buy tickets now: Jay Park sold out his first solo concert in Seoul within ten minutes earlier this year, and his debut Australian appearance is sure to be just as hot!

Jay Park Live in Melbourne
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Dallas Brooks Centre
Tickets: TBC

Jay Park Live in Sydney
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Enmore Theatre
Doors open at 6:30 PM
Tickets: Standard $68.60, Balcony $78.60 and limited VIP Meet & Greet $128.60.

Tickets available at http://www.soulmannalive.com